Convoluted Love
by TheStoryAdopter
Summary: Love comes in many forms. Tender love. Hate-love. Sakura never stopped loving Sasuke. She only changed how she did it. She was sick and tired of being forgotten. What better way to breach his avenger's heart than by taking over whatever his dear aniki had begun but failed to complete? "You have killed my reason to live!" "Thank me, Sasuke. I have given you a reason to live."
1. Chapter 1

Itachi leaned back against the rough bark of the tree, his lethal blood-red eyes closed in resignation and his body slack and as loose as the black and red cape fluttering around him.

_He was almost done..._

Effortlessly, he detected the familiar chakra signature in the periphery of his surroundings and opened his world-weary eyes.

_His little otouto would soon be here. Soon it would finally be all over..._

Serenity descended upon the tall, built but dying Uchiha and he drew his eyes shut once more. It wasn't as if he could see much anyway. Everything was just a faint broken outline, an indecipherable blur and Itachi yearned for the moment of clarity his death would bring.

_Sasuke, his dear otouto, would finally avenge his clan. And return to Konoha, grudgingly pardoned - a controversial hero, but a hero no less. And Itachi would finally close the chapter on the dirty dark secrets of the past, take them to his grave and finally be at rest. _

**_"Hate me...otouto"_**

_He would be so proud. Had always been so proud of Sasuke._

"Because you love him."

Crimson eyes snapped open, body tense even though he did not appear to be in a fighting stance. His heart recognising that the moment that had come even though he knew he knew his plans had been foiled. The after-effects of the pills were appearing, he fought the urge to cough up fresh blood from his lungs and instead fixed his deadliest glare onto the figure who had entered the glade. The woman who had just so easily interrupted his peace, his concentration, his plans.

And he couldn't even _see _her, he thought frustratedly. Outwardly all he revealed was his displeasure.

"Leave, kunoichi," he commanded even though it would be futile. If she had could have been so easily scared off she would have never approached him in the first place. He was momentarily stunned as she appeared in front of him, pink hair and emerald eyes hurting so bright they hurt his deteriorating eyes.

"Haruno Sakura of Konoha."

She paused, taken aback. Not because he knew her name even though he had no cause to, she knew that he was the perceptive kind who was always aware of things, but because he was chuckling in dark amusement.

"So I live for Konoha and die for it. You are here to kill me, aren't you kunoichi?"

She bristled slightly at his choosing to call her kunoichi even though he made it clear that he knew who she was.

"You planned to die anyway," she tossed carelessly. And in that moment she was given a sight so rare it was difficult to behold. Uchiha Itachi, slack-jawed, eyes-wide in surprise then animosity. The rage in his eyes was simply...impressive.

"You...!" He hissed - almost snarled - accusingly. He lunged forward hands circling the slim, vulnerable column of her throat. Foolish girl. She was at his mercy. "What do you know-"

He choked on his words blood splattering on his cape and staining his teeth.

"I can tell a dying man when I see one," she said wryly, not the least perturbed when he furiously tightened his hold.

He knew of course. The only way she could have analysed his plans so thoroughly was because she knew about the real nature of his massacre. Even knew his real reason for leaving the village and inciting Sasuke. But he could not fathom _how_. How had she known?

If she knew then Konoha must know. Then why had she come so clearly to kill him?

"You are a hero, Itachi. A martyr. I will never let Sasuke become like you."

His eyes widened and his heart trembled, for the moment of clarity had finally arrived. He saw then in emerald eyes the same thinking he had on that fateful night of the massacre. And that was why even though he could have easily fought back, he chose not to. He was giving in to the illness that was overtaking his body. Giving in to her, the girl he had never seen before but understood as well as he knew himself. Blood had already more than half-filled his lungs. He would never escape death. He had only hoped that Sasuke would kill him before the illness did. But that would never happen now.

When her glowing hand tenderly caressed the base of the throat he knew it was a merciful kill. One of grudging respect, for the undying loyalty he had towards Konoha...but also for the unsurpassable love he had for Sasuke, no doubt.

He crumpled in her grasp, even as he sensed his little brother step into the glade, falling with a resigned, endearing smile cast in his general direction.

**I have always loved you, Sasuke.**

* * *

Sasuke halted at the edge of the glade, pure disbelief plastered on his face. Chest heaving and perspiring at the effort he had put into charging full-chakra towards Itachi. He had sworn he would catchup with Itachi this time.

But instead all he is faced with is

_- This_.

The pink-haired kunoichi respectfully lays the frail body crumpled within her arms to rest on the ground and turns around slowly - as if she had all the time in the world - to face him.

He didn't know what he had expected, bright emerald eyes glistening with tears perhaps? Shock? Guilt? Fear?

Yet all she does is run a bloodied hand through rose-hued bangs, stare unwaveringly at him and open her mouth.

"You're always too late, _Sasuke_."

His blood runs cold. He knows that tone of voice. That unmistakeable derision.

_Weak. You are much to weak..._

_Hate me, otouto. Hate me..._

He blinks to remind himself that Itachi is dead and this is Sakura.

**Sakura killed Itachi.**

Fury erupts from his core.

"_Sakura_. What have you done?!" He growls. "You have taken away my reason to live!"

He simmers in his anger. "i should have killed you the last time I saw you. No...I should have fucking killed you the first time I met you! ALWAYS SO ANNOY-"

"Immature brat."

The tomoe in his eyes spin madly.

**"You should be thanking me, Sasuke. I have given you a reason to live."**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to the people who reviewed/alerted. Haha if you thought it was a one-shot. But the ending did sound like one, hey? I don't know how far I will be going with this story. It is my own idea as far as I am concerned and I didn't think I'd be writing any original fanfics (hence the name TheStoryAdopter) but here I am. Hope you like this chapter.**

* * *

**Convoluted Love**

Chapter 1

_Mindfuck_

* * *

_Sasuke was always meant to be the victim of a strange and torturous love. _

_- TheStoryAdopter _

* * *

**"You should be thanking me, Sasuke. I have given you a reason to live."**

Her. Audacity.

His nostrils flare, his fingers tensed so hard in their claw grip that it strained his wrist. In his anger and astonishment, he had lost control of his chakra and chidori had snuffed out like a lit candle in the midst of a tornado.

How dare she insinuate that she could replace Itachi?!

"YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR TO HINDER ME THIS TIME, SAKURA!" He roared, his chakra flaring impossibly high weighing down the air with his immense power.

"DID YOU THINK I WOULD COME HOME IF YOU KILLED HIM? DID YOU THINK I WOULD SETTLE FOR ANYONE ELSE BUT MYSELF KILLING HIM?! YOU KNEW, SAKURA. YOU _KNEW_. I SACRIFICED EVERYTHING FOR THIS MOMENT AND NOW YOU'VE JUST WRENCHED IT AWAY FROM ME!"

It had to have been the first time she had heard him to speak at great length.

She leaned back against the rough bark of the tree trunk, just as Itachi had done moments before. One leg crossed over the other. Hands loose by her sides. Green eyes impassive and patient as a mother watching her child throw a tantrum.

Sakura was being more fucking annoying than ever.

Everything she did was making him angrier and angrier by the second. The way she angled her head, looked down on him with _those _tauntingeyes. The way she seemed to be completely at ease as if she had done nothing wrong.

Just like _him_ on _that_ night.

"I don't see what's wrong, Sasuke."

It was sharp punch to his gut, a knife sadistically embedded half-way through his stomach.

"It was worth a try to see if you would come back once Itachi dies. But it was just a whim."

Just a whim.

His clan was murdered just on a whim.

Itachi was killed just by a whim.

How the world hated them.

"I'm always up for this game of revenge that you never seem to tire of."

The last remaining threads of his control snapped and he let the full extent of his ire loose.

"_You will pay, Sakura_."

She didn't reply, eyes expressionless as he appeared next to her with blinding speed and rammed chidori through her heart. She had barely formed the substitution justsu in time. And even then it had been instinct rather than foresight that had prompted her to do so.

Sasuke was so damn fast. So damn strong.

Itachi had every right to be proud.

_She_ was proud.

She heard his snarl of frustration as the puff of smoke cleared and all that revealed itself was a shrivelled up log burnt to a crisp.

"Fuck!"

She had trained so hard for this moment. So hard to remain firmly out of his grasp. She wasn't as strong as him...but she'd never let him know that. She had never let that pull her down before.

Sakura's best weapon had always been her brain.

"You're just as impatient as ever, Sa-su-ke."

His head whipped around to catch sight of her lingering around the base of the tree, where she had been at the start.

How had she-?

It was impossible. She couldn't have escaped his Sharingan.

Sakura smiled knowingly, showing her pearly white teeth. "You would never been able to kill Itachi with that rage blinding your eyes. How could you win against me?"

Suddenly confusion seeped through his mind. He hadn't thought of it before. Sakura had killed Itachi. She had bested him through a fight. He was underestimating her. She was capable of standing toe to toe with Itachi...no, there was no sign of any injury on her except a bruise around her throat.

He ground his teeth and criticised himself for being so brash. So foolish.

"Like I said, immature brat."

He clamped down tighter on his anger realising that she had been doing it on purpose all along. It did not help that she had always been so good at getting under his skin. He forced himself to think.

Genjutsu.

Yes that was it.

It had to be genjutsu.

That was the only way he could have missed.

But no genjutsu could have supassed his Sharingan, he was confident of that.

There was only one way, _Mangekyou_, he realised and it had his blood boiling that never before.

Sakura was just too good at torturing him.

He flash-stepped towards Itachi so fast it wasn't possible for her to follow the movement with her eyes. But she didn't need to. She had already anticipated it. Her foot struck out and he coiled dodging it easily. Her foot slammed against the ground, and suddenly it fell apart. Cracks ran out from the epicentre, running several metres a second, the ground undereath Itachi shifted and his corpse fell under half buried in his makeshift coffin.

Sasuke felt desperation well up in the pit of his stomach, lunged forward instinctively to shelter his aniki from the falling slabs of earth.

Because despite all he had done, he loved his aniki.

He held back his tears of grief, shaky hands plodding his elder brother's eye sockets. He froze. They were still there. Sakura hadn't taken them after all.

His eyes narrowed, lips thinning.

"Kai!"

The bright sun blinked back at him and there he was alone with in the serene glade. The ground unbroken, undisturbed. Itachi lay still in his arms, a peaceful smile on his lips.

But Sakura was gone.

On the rough bark of the tree, was the only thing she had left behind.

A message:

**"Come and get me, Sasuke-kun."**


End file.
